A wide variety of flexible printed circuit (FPC) connectors are provided for interconnecting flexible printed circuits (FPCs) with printed circuit boards. A typical FPC connector includes an insulating housing, contact elements received in the housing, and a drive member rotatably mounted onto the housing and/or insertable into the housing for pressing an FPC against the contact elements. Latching mechanisms of various designs are proposed for this purpose.
A conventional FPC connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,262, wherein a plastic molded housing integrally forms a pair of detent projections. Corresponding engagement steps of a lock-on insert are locked with the detent projections. However, the integral configuration weakens both the housing and the detent projections, which is a disadvantage for providing a reliable latching mechanism, and also makes soldering inconvenient.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,214 discloses another conventional FPC connector having a dielectric housing and a pair of separately formed latch/mounting clips. Camming latch embosses of an actuator lock with the latch/mounting clips when an FPC is inserted into the connector. However, the latching assembly is not convenient to use when removing the FPC.